Faith, Favor, & Friends...Yes Reading is Relaxing!

Exodus 4:3-5 "And He said, "Cast it on the ground." So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Reach out your hand and take it by the tail" (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you."

Have you ever desired to obey God concerning a revelational instruction for your life, but fear held you captive? Have God ever told you to do something that on the ordinary, you'd never ever do? The scariest thing for me to do was to confess my calling into the ministry. I'd been the bad actor for most of my life, and no soon as I truly got saved, God put me to work. First, Sunday school teacher, then junior Matron's teacher, and then Mission Leader. At the same time, I was under a pastor who totally didn't believe in women preaching or the gift of speaking in tongues. So when God spoke into my heart concerning the direction for my life, I was so fearful, so I decided that because of men, preaching was not what I wanted to do. After three days in jail preaching and teaching God's word, while sitting on the floor God spoke to my heart and said, "If I ask you to stay, would you stay? As one tear trickled down my cheek, I said, "Lord, I will, but I don't want to." Ten minutes later, they were calling my name to leave the cell because my bond had been posted.For a while, I felt like Moses did. Lord I know You are the one who told me to do this, but I just wanted to flee. Nevertheless in obedience to God, I took the Gospel in my hand, to hide it in my heart, in order to release it out from my mouth.Now, I am no longer fearful of man; I am committed to obeying God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that took a sinful young woman like myself,, and changed me in order that you may see Him through me. When we decide to obey God, this choice fully cast out fear. It is our obedience to Him and His Word that gives us the authority to walk in the assurance of Isaiah 54:17.So my sister or brother, I encourage you to obey God. It's sometimes what you fear the most, that will be the very thing that God will purpose you to conquer for the sake of the people seeing Him through you. So grab whatever it is by the tail, and master it! Be Blessed!

In my thirty something years of life, I can't remember ever spending a Fourth of July at church. Anyway, it was truly the firework that I needed to jump start the next half of my year. My Pastor song a song today that said something to this affect....God I want to have more of you and I'm willing to do whatever I have to for it! And then he said, "I might have to let go of some friends, but I'll do it."It's so amazing to me that when we get ready to go on different levels or either walk in our true purpose, we lose friends and sometimes even family. For the life of me I still can't quit wrap my mind on the fact that relationships are seasonal. Seems like to me, you should be a friend for a life time, but there's a distinct different in covenant friends and friends. So in case you are like me, let me explain it to you.Sometimes God puts us in covenant relationships because these folks are there to keep us grounded and to help us stay on tract. Covenant relationships are with people who are spiritual and who are determined to pray you through even when you aren't praying for yourself. That's why when people say to me, "Why are you still friends with them?" It's no simple answer to someone who doesn't believe, but to a believer they understand that in covenant relationships, everyone isn't going to always be right or where you are in their levels of closeness with God. That's why the song affected me so much. I understand that when God gets ready to move me, He'll do whatever it takes to get me in His face, on my face. So today, I left church on this lovely Fourth of July saying to God, "Whatever it takes to get me where you want me to be....whatever it takes for me to walk in my purpose....whatever it takes for me to walk according to Your will....I'm ready to do it! So to you I offer my firework for this next half of the year. Get popping with doing what ever it takes to get in God's presence. Be Blessed